Centrifugal apparatus



July 16, 1929. E. ROBERTS CENTRIF'UGAL APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet- Filed June 30, 1927 July 16, 1929. ROBERTS 1,721,491

CENTRIFUGAL APPARATUS Filed June 30, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented July 16, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EUGENE ROBERTS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOB TO THE WESTERN STATES MA- CHINE COMPANY, OF SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, A OORPORATION OF UTAH.

CENTRIFUGAL APPARATUS.

Application filed June 30,

This invention relates to centrifugal apparatus and particularly of the type used for the centrifugal purification of sugar, starch and the like, and is intended to provide simple and effective means for preventing the mingling of an unpurified batch of sugar in a self-discharging basket with the purified sugar previously discharged therefrom in case, through accident or otherwise, the centrifugal should be stopped before its contained charge of sugar should be purified.

In centrifugal practice in sugar mills the load of sugar in the basket, after it has been purged, washed and partially dried, is discharged through the bottom of the centrifugal into an underneath receptacle, which is usually in the form of a trough container and scroll conveyor for conducting the purified sugar away from the centrifugal for further treatment.

As the sugar, when led into the basket from the overhead mixer, contains a large quantity of syrup which renders it sticky and gives it a brown tinge, the accidental discharging of such a mass into the scroll conveyor containing the purified sugar which is in condition to go to the granulater, un-

. fits the whole batch of sugar for treatment in the granulater; it will, therefore, be seen that such occurrence is extremely objectionable and wasteful, and it is to avoid this trouble that I have made the present improvement in this apparatus.

Generally speaking, the invention comprises, in combination with a suspended centrifugal basket and its surrounding curb, an underneath receptacle which is normally closed to prevent sugar from the centrifugal basket from flowing into it during the eriod that the basket is running, but which is opened for the reception of the sugar to be discharged when the brake is applied to stop the machine. According to this principle, if the driving belt of the centrifugal should break or the driving motor should fail, the basket would stop of itself before the sugar was completely purged, washed and partial- 1y dried, but as the brake is applied only to slow down or stop the machine for the discharging operation, the opening of the receptacle is effected only when the load of purified sugar is ready for discharge. The invention is applicable either to my new automatic type of machine, or to the usual hand controlled machine.

1927. Serial No. 202,706.

These and other features of the invention Will be described in the following specification and will be defined in the claims hereto annexed.

In the drawings: 7

Figure 1 is an end elevation showing one of a battery of machines suspended in the usual fashion from the mixer with an underneath scroll and conveyor, the centrifugal being shown partly in center section to illustrate the course of the sugar being discharged.

Figure 2 is a front elevation of a single centrifugal in connection with the safeguarding of the discharge.

As is well known, a battery of any convenient number of centrifuga-ls are suspended from I-beams running along the front of the mixer trough in which the wet sugar is mixed and from which it is led into the basket by the operator through a discharge chute. It has been deemed sufficient for the present case to show the invention ap lied to one of these machines since each mac ine in the row comprising the battery will have the same apparatus.

Referring now to the drawings, in front of the overhead mixer a, containing the raw sugar for treatment, are arranged the longitudinal I-beams 6, according to the usual practice, which carry the hanger of the suspension centrifu al which comprises the perforated centrifugal basket 1, in this case having a frusto-conical bottom terminating in a large circular opening bounded by the flange l, in which is secured the supporting radial armed spider 3, which is bolted to the lower end of the centrifugal spindle or shaft 2.

Surrounding the centrifugal basket is the curb or casing 4 with a top ring 5 and a bot tom syrup-collecting trough 6 of annular form, provided with a drain pipe 7, in the usual manner. Below the large center opening inside the collecting ring 6 is usually placed a converging frusto-conical discharge chute 8, arranged above the longitudinal trough 9, which forms a receptacle into which the sugar is discharged from. each basket after purification, the sugar then being conveyed away to the crystallizing apparatus by the mechanical scroll conveyor 9, secured to a rotary shaft 9 operatin in the bottom of the receptacle. This troug -like receptacle 9 is commonly made of sheet metal plates and lever (Z.

carries, near its upper edges, longitudinal stiffangle plates 10. To these angle plates I secure brackets 12, in which are pivoted rockshafts 11, to which are secured the valves or lids 14, which swim with the rock-shafts 11 to closed position, sIiown in Figure 1, where they meet at a common apex resting upon a longitudinal truss or bar 15.

Any suitable actuating meansfor shifting the movable top or cover of the bottom recep tacle may be provided, and in this case I have shown a crank arm 13, secured to one of the rock-shafts ll, and having pivotal connection with a vertical link 20, which'is pivot- ;ally connected, at its upper end, to a bell crank lever 21, whose upper arm is connected by link 22 which, in the form actually shown, is pivotally connected with an arm 23 on the rock-shaft (Z, to which is secured the shipper This shipper lever is employed for starting the machine in the case of a beltdriven centrifugal, by throwing in the clutch pulley which drives the belt, or in the case of anelectric machine by closing the switch which controls themotorcurrent, and by its reverse movement setting the brake to slow down the machine to low speed for discharging and to stop the machine;

The machine actually illustrated in the drawings is of the belt-driven type, and has a belt pulley 2 secured to the upper portion of the basket-shaft around its center of suspensionand gyration, and according to the usual practice is provided with an interior expanding brake of a type similar to that illustrated, for example, in my United States Patent 1,599,373, dated Sept, 7, 1926, the brake being expanded or set to its operative or retarding position when the shipper lever (Z is thrown rearwardly either by hand or, as

shown in the drawings, by a strong torsion spring 6Z2. A connecting link (Z extending from the shipper lever (Z to the brake-expanding spindle d serves to effect the expansion of the brake or its release as the shipper lever d is moved rearwardly or forwardly in the respective cases.

- The detailed construction of the brake mechanism is not herein illustrated as such details form no part of the present invention. In this particular the invention is concerned with the opening'of the underneath receptacle for the discharged load of sugar when the machine is intentionally stopped or slowed down for that purpose, while the receptacle is kept closed or protected against the reception of sugar from the centrifugal in case the machine should accidentally stop without the movement of the shipper lever or application of the brake.

Not only is this apparatus useful in case of accident for'preventing the discharge of the load of masse-cuite or unpuriiied sugar into the receptacle for the purified sugar, but

even in the ordinary centrifugal ma'chine practice there is a tendency for the syrup or wet sugar to drip through the bottom of the basket when the machine is being loaded and, as at that time the diverging cover above the scroll conveyer is in position for action, such drip is diverted away from the conveyer and does no harm.

What I claim is:

1. In a centrifugal apparatus, the combination with an open bottom centrifugal and its open bottom casing, of a centrifugal control lever an underneath receptacle positioned to receive the load discharged through said bottom, a movable cover interposed between the receptacle and the open bottom of the centrifugal to exclude from the receptacle any load discharged from the centrifugal during the normal running period of the centrifugal,

and means actuated through the agency of said control lever, for shifting said cover to inactive position to allow the discharging load to enter said receptacle.

2. The combination with a bottom discharge centrifugal machine, and a brake controlling member, of an underneath receptacle positioned to receive the load discharged from the centrifugal, means for excluding the discharging load from the receptacle, said excluding means being interconnected with the brake-controlling member to become inoperative when the brake-controlling member is set to braking position.

3. The combination with a bottom discharging centrifugal having a controlling member by which the machine is started and stopped, of a receptacle arranged to receive the load of material discharged through the bottom of the machine, means for excluding such load from entrance into the receptacle, said excluding means being cooperatively associated with said controlling member to be set at excluding position when the controlling member is positioned to normally maintain the centrifugal in action, and being moved to open position when the controlling member is shifted to stopping position.

4. In a centrifugal machine apparatus, the combination with a suspended gyratory centrifugal machine having a starting, and stop ping lever, of an underneath receptacle arranged to receive the load of material discharged from the machine, a cover arranged to exclude the discharging load from the receptacle when the lever is set at operative driving position, said cover being moved from the path of the discharging load by the movement of said lever to stopping position.

5. In a centrifugal apparatus, the combination with a centrifugal machinehaving suitable driving and braking means, controlled by a suitable shipper, an underneath conveyer arranged to receive the load of material discharged from the centrifugalyone orfmore pivotal plates arranged to'intercept the discharging load and divert it from the convey er, means for shifting such intercepting late from active to inactive position, said shiiting means being operatively interconnected with the centrifugal machine shipper to shift the intercepting plate to active position when the shipper is moved to normal driving position and to inactive position when the shipper is moved to brake-setting position.

6. In a centrifugal apparatus, the combination with an open bottom centrifugal basket, means for controlling the starting and stopping of the centrifugal basket; a conveyer trough arranged below the basket, a pair of opposed hinged lids located intermediate 0f the basket and the conveyer trough arranged, when closed, to exclude the material discharging through the open bottom of the basket from entering the trough, and swingable upward and outward to allow such load to discharge into the trough and means actuated through said controlhng means for shifting said lids to either position.

In witness whereof, I have subscribed the above specification.

EUGENE ROBERTS. 

